Model Editing Questions

[Yrahcaz411]

Due to my lack of a program to edit models, and my lack of money to buy such a program, I have tried to use IGOR's actor editor and Mike Schell's skinner to change the appearance of actors for my mod.

Unfortunately, I ran into trouble. In the IGOR actor editor, there is a section for 'attached models'. I don't know if this is where you put in the texture for a model, or you put in the model file of a model you'd like to attach.

I'd like to add the bandanna looking material that can be seen on the island thunder version of Jack Stone to a .chr that I have. Would this require a program to edit the model, or can it be done in IGOR???

Could someone explain this to me or link me to a tutorial that might shed some light on the issue?

[Phlookian]

OK, I'll do my best with this one............

Most characters are a one piece model (the clothes/ backpacks etc), they are all one "mesh" and this has a texture applied to it and it is linked to a set of "bones" (a virtual skeleton that the game engine animates)

This is true of the jack stone model (and because he is a one piece creation, if it were possible to take off his hat or mask there would just be air underneath........ what you see is what you get)

When island thunder was released, the bad guy characters could be altered by adding attachments (packs/ holsters/ bandanas etc) these were exactly the right size to fit these particular models and these attachments are linked to certain bones in the body.

Although it is technically possible to attach these pre-made attachments, they will probably not line up with any character type than the ones they were intended for. You certainly can't take bits off of one jack stone model and add it to another.

If you would like to mess around with the attachments, I suggest you open up some of the actor files from island thunder in notepad (don't use igor for this). You can then get an idea of which attachments are available and how to apply them.

The alternative is that you create a new mod folder, copy and re-name characters and use the skinner tool to change their textures.

Alternatively, you could try to find a helpful modder who has 3dsmax and is willing to give up his time, all of the GR character models have been released in max format and can be altered (although exporting is no 5 minute job if it is to be done correctly, especially if changes are to be made to the mesh)

Hope this helps

[Yrahcaz411]

thank you very much for clarifying for me.

i'd certainly love to have some characters made, but I don't want to ask someone to make them just for my experimentation.

I'm new to modding and just learning at the moment, when I get serious about making mods I'll see about asking someone. Or maybe I'll have 3dsMax by then.

Thanks again, and I think I'll try notepad and see what i can do.

[Yrahcaz411]

Okay, I copied some characters from Island Thunder to my mod folder. I have been using notepad to add attachments to them. I now understand this process.

I've made another observation that I'd like some clarification on, if at all possible. I was using Mike Schell's Skinner 1.1 when I noticed that some characters are only divided into Head and Body sub-groups. Other characters are divided into Head, Torso, individual legs, individual arms, Gloves, and Boots.

I was wondering what makes some characters one way and some the other way. If someone could let me know that'd be great, thanks.

And thanks again for the help with my previous questions!

[Phlookian]

This has to do with the way the models are originally created and textured.

The 3d Modeller in each case either joined each piece together or didn't (I don't really a see a reason for this myself)

The head in each case is seperate because it holds a different texture, but the rest is just the preference of the original creator. Depending on each model, this may give you some room for experimentation (although this can also be done by altering textures in photoshop).

Just remember to never over-write the original files, always create new ones (preferably in your own mod folder), if you keep the same file names for your new textures etc, they will be given preference in game as long as your own mod has higher priority

[Yrahcaz411]

thank you Phlookian.

i know that all the ghost recon characters have been put into 3dsmax format and put on this site for download.

i tried to find 3dsmax the last few days and all i saw was prices in the thousands of dollars. it seems to me as if there are a lot of modders on this forum that have the program.

is there a cheaper way to get the program, or did all of you really spend thousands of dollars on one program??

if anyone knows where i can get it for under $100 please PLEASE let me know. i hate having to rely on others to do things for me and i really want to create my own characters.

[Phlookian]

Well in the first place GR1 is an old game and you need an older version of 3dsmax (version 4 or 5), neither of these can be purchased directly from the manufacturer.

The demo was given away with a couple of books (3dsmax bible & 3dsmax for dummys) this was a 30 day trial but I believe there is a way to purchase the license (or at least there was).

Also there are (or were) student licenses etc

I'd have to leave this up to your inventiveness

However, there are a large number of excellent modders who create skins and textures, missions, sound files, reticles etc and never need to make a model. So there are ways to do it without breaking the bank

[Yrahcaz411]

Thanks Phlookian, I was able to get Paint Shop Pro X for free this weekend so I might try my hand at some texturing tutorials.